This sucks.

Do not be fooled by this recent spate of strangely Spring-like weather, Jake. The winter doldrums are still upon us, never mind what some damnable flea-bitten rodent in Pennsylvania has to say about it.

I’ve often wondered how the $%headed tradition that is Groundhog Day came to us in the first place, btw. Any jackleg knows that groundhogs are sordid, contemptible little beasts; they would just as soon nibble your nose and steal your wallet as give you the time of day. Do not trust them, nor their shadows, for they are liars too.

But I’m getting off topic here. The point of it all is that, while winter may still be upon us — look for some wretched, icy blast to come along and dispel this False Spring we are presently enjoying, any day now — there is hope in the air. Because these annual late-season spells of intermittent warm weather breaking up the cold are the inevitable signs that Old Man Winter is slowly losing his grip.

Come February and early March, the anticipation is palpable, like that full-to-bursting tension that comes right before the climax, and sweet, inevitable release. Savor it, because the Real Spring will be here soon.

In the meantime, we have a few suggestions for biding your time until warm weather settles in. Such as the Feb. 12 appearance of “Gyspy Punk-Grass” outfit Strung Like a Horse, along with the Blackfoot Gyspies at Scruffy City Hall. The Strungfellows are amiable madmen, and the Blackfoot Gypsies… well, they just flat out rock, like the early Rolling Stones following some mischievous muse into a backwater juke joint in the Mississippi delta.

Or the Feb. 6 appearance of Lady D. and Souljam — a favorite of our Benefactors — also at Scruffy City Hall. Or the Feb. 20 show at Preservation Pub featuring Andrew Sayne’s MEOB (see accompanying feature in this edition of Scruffington Post) along with local multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire Matt Honkonen, and Zach and Kota’s Sweet Life. Or the Knoscars, i.e. “Knoxville Oscars,” Feb. 28 at Scruffy City Hall.

And lest we forget, local music scribe Wayne Bledsoe’s new WDVX Six ‘O Clock Swerve is happening now Thursday evenings at 6 p.m. in Scruffy City Hall. This month’s stellar lineup includes Jordan Hull (Feb. 4); former Judybats frontman Jeff Heiskell (Feb. 11); The Jank (Feb. 18); and the much-anticipated return of Knoxville trad/string-band outfit Dixieghost on Feb. 25.

All that plus Scruffy City Cinema on Wednesdays; standup and improv comedy; singer-songwriter open mics; and plenty of other musical and not-so-musical events to entertain you. Or at least lull you into drinking enough to create the illusion of such. Keep in mind that we all make our own fun, Jake. Some of us just try harder than others.